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I am not an owner of this unit (yet) but considering the volume of interest I think that this modl needs its own thread, especially considering the volume of posts that the previous 809 model generated.

Latest Firmware Version: 1100-7101-0100-0000
The 7/24 /2012 update will address the following:
1. Supports Onkyo Remote2 for iOS version: 1.30 or later;
-Adds support for high end models & audio streaming from iOS device
2. Supports Onkyo Remote for Android version: 1.30 or later; -Adds support for high end models
*it is also necessary to update the App
3. Improves operation of "Power on" of remote control
4. Adds support of playback of Dolby True HD 192kHz file format by using Home Media Function;
Notice:
Limitation of when using UWF-1
1. Only 64 kHz and less sampling rate is supported; 2. Dolby TrueHD and DSD is not supported when using Home Media Function; 3. Using at rear USB port is not supported when using Home Media Function;

I am not an owner of this unit (yet) but considering the volume of interest I think that this modl needs its own thread,

I agree. Not to slight folks who are interested in the 717 or 616 but I think that the 818 is in another league entirely primarily because of MultEq XT32.

It's kinda ridiculous to me that Onkyo is only offering Audyssey 2EQ the most basic system without any sub correction, in these 2 models (717/616) and one can take a gigantic LEAP up to XT32 (818) for a lousy $200 MSRP over the 717. Dumb!

Thanks for starting the thread, I'll be looking forward to reviews from all the folks who bought up all the stock from Amazon and Vann's this w/e, when they get them up and running this week.

jm... you should really copy and paste this information into the first post of the thread and update with links, FW update notes, reviews, etc.... IMO, the first post of an Owners Thread should contain all of the relevant information on a given piece of gear....

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ (3/26/12) --- Onkyo, widely regarded as the most innovative manufacturer of home theater technology, has introduced two new feature-packed mid-line audio-video receivers. The Onkyo TX-NR717 and TX-NR818 are 7.2 Channel Network A/V Receivers that offer an exciting mix of advanced networking technology, high performance video and THX®-certified sound quality.

For the home theater enthusiast who sees no need to compromise, the TX-NR818 offers the audio calibration capabilities of Audyssey MultEQ® XT32, three surround processing modes including DTS Neo:X, and the unmatched picture quality provided by Onkyo's Dual Core Video Engine.

The Dual Core Video Engine combines the power of an HQV® Vida™ VHD 1900 video processor core to generate smooth, accurate 1080p upscaling and enhancement of lower-quality content, with the performance of the Marvel Qdeo™ processor, which can upscale 1080p content to four times that resolution. Additionally, the TX-NR818's Dual Core Video Engine offers video calibration to ISF standards, so the user can enjoy breathtaking TV color accuracy. On the TX-NR717, the Marvel Qdeo™ provides upscaling of all sources to 1080p and 4K.

This year, Onkyo is the first AVR brand to offer the new InstaPrevue™ and MHL (Mobile High Definition Link) technologies, and both are available on these new receivers. InstaPrevue displays video thumbnails representing available content on devices connected via HDMI, which greatly simplifies the process of switching HDMI sources. The front-panel MHL HDMI® port allows users to easily connect and play high-resolution media stored on compatible smart phones with seven channels of surround sound.

The Onkyo TX-NR818 includes Audyssey MultEQ XT32 that adjusts the listening room with data gathered from more than 10,000 control points across eight listening positions. This receiver also includes three surround ambience expansion systems, DTS Neo:X™, Dolby® Pro Logic® IIz and Audyssey DSX®. As found on Onkyo’s high-end models, DTS Neo:X incorporates Front Wide or Front Height channels along with incredibly realistic listening modes to maximize the game, music, and movie experience. The TX-NR717 features Audyssey DSX for Wide Channels and Dolby Pro Logic IIz for Heights, as well as multi-channel expansion of stereo sources and uses Audyssey 2EQ for room calibration.

Both receivers earn THX® Select 2 Plus™ certification with enhancements to Onkyo’s exclusive WRAT concept. Distortion is all but eliminated by the use of three-stage inverted Darlington circuitry, with power supplied by a massive high-power transformer. Both units feature Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit DACs on all seven channels while the TX-NR818 adds PLL jitter-cleaning circuits to further improve signal quality, as well as isolated power amp and pre-amp blocks.

The TX-NR717 and TX-NR818 lead the field in connectivity, with eight HDMI inputs (one front, and seven rear) and two outputs. HDMI implementation enables 3D video support, as well as DTS-HD Master Audio™ and Dolby® TrueHD audio decoding. These receivers feature an Audio Return Channel over HDMI, allowing the playback of broadcast TV with surround sound. New 1080p, high-resolution GUI (Graphical User Interface) offers an overlaid ‘Quick Setup’ menu that provides access to frequently used settings—ideal for quick mid-program adjustments.
Onkyo’s home networking execution is beyond compare, with online sources that are easy to set up and fast to access. Users can connect using a LAN cable, or add an optional UWF-1 Wireless LAN Adapter to the rear-side USB port, leaving the front-panel USB free for an iPod®, iPhone®, or flash memory device.

In addition to a vast selection of internet radio channels, and music streaming from Spotify and AUPEO!, users can enjoy their personal cloud-based music collections via MP3tunes with powerful home theater sound. Ethernet connectivity also enables playback of music from PC or media server, and simplifies periodic firmware updates.

With the TX-NR717 and TX-NR818, integrated house-wide entertainment is a reality, with three-room audio distribution via dedicated line-outs, or by allocating surround channel outputs designed for the purpose. Amplification of audio signals is easily switched to either of two zones equipped with stereo speakers. Playback control across multiple rooms—along with access to all major home theater settings—is available from anywhere in the house using the Remote App 2 for iPhone, or Onkyo Remote App for Android phone.

In the coming months, Onkyo will introduce its UBT-1 USB Bluetooth Adapter to significantly upgrade the ability of its network receivers to interact with a wide variety of hand-held electronic devices. There will also be a new iPhone remote control app that will enable music streaming from a handset to an Onkyo network receiver, and also the company's first remote app for the Kindle Fire.

Both receivers include a comprehensive selection of digital and analog A/V connections, and offer front-channel bi-amping. Furthermore, the TX-NR818 boasts an onboard Digital Crossover Processing Network to cancel frequency interference when bi-amping loudspeakers. This model also has 9.2-channel pre-outs if the user wishes to use the receiver as a nine-channel processor.

These receivers are well suited to powering an existing home theater setup, or as a centerpiece around which a magnificent new system can be built. With the TX-NR717 and TX-NR818, Onkyo delivers the kind of features and performance that keeps the everyday user at the cutting edge of home theater technology.

The Onkyo TX-NR717 and TX-NR818 will be available in May with suggested retail prices of $ 999.00 and $1,199.00, respectively.

The 818 also includes a unique feature not found on many AVR's, and certainly none at this price point...

An Active Digital Crossover system, for active bi-amping.

From the manual....

Quote:

Digital Crossover provides a separate routing system by splitting the audio signal into separate frequency bands optimized for each speaker driver. It provides a fine, three- dimensional sound field that extend each driver’s performance to the uppermost.

With its built-in time alignment function, this system also adjusts the sound shifting that occurs when there is a physical offset between sound drivers. At a digital processing level, it corrects this offset by delaying the related audio signal.

Although this function is meant for speakers without crossover network, it can also be used with bi-amped speakers.

In this case, set the crossover network on the AV receiver as the speakers’ built-in network frequency is not used.

Output Band for TestHigh + Low, High, Low:
Select the output for the audio signal.

OverlapNo
Yes

With this setting, a frequency band near the specified crossover frequency is output by both tweeters and woofers. Based on the frequency selected for “Crossover”, the cutoff frequency of the low-pass filter (LPF) will be set to 1/3 octave up and that of the high-pass filter (HPF) to 1/3 octave down. Example: With a “Crossover” of “3200Hz”, the cutoff frequency of the woofers’ LPF will be “4000Hz”, and the tweeters’ HPF will be “2500Hz”.

It is not included.. so if you don't have ethernet, and want streaming functionality, the answer is yes..

It should be mentioned that there are better USB wireless dongles than the Official Onkyo offering. Anything with an Atheros AR9271 Chipset should be compatible. One model in particular, the TP-Link TL-WN722N, has been used as a substitute with success and is cheaper than the Onkyo dongle. The TP-Link includes an external antenna and a USB extension cable to get it away from the clutter inside the cabinet and up higher where it can get a better signal.

I have a question for owners of the 818: is the Apple Lossless file support quoted in the manual ACTUALLY built-in, or is it dependent on AirPlay or direct playback from a USB drive or iPod plugged in? Meaning, if I used this as a streaming media playback device, would it access ALAC files from my networked HDD and play them back?

The 818 also includes a unique feature not found on many AVR's, and certainly none at this price point...

An Active Digital Crossover system, for active bi-amping.

From the manual....

That is a very interesting feature. I am wondering what kind of results people will get from this. It would really be something if Audyssey could ping the tweeter and woofer separately and then set the digital crossover but it looks like everything is manual setup. I really hope some early adopters will try this feature out and report back on the results.

Hopefully some pre-orders will show up in the next couple of days and we will get a lot of new information as well as questions answered by the early adopters.

Joerods review should also be out soon, and hopefully he will drop in and put a link to it in this thread.

Working on it. I got in trouble (warning) the last time I posted a link to one of my Reviews so not sure I will be able to. Obviosuly I will point everyone in the right direction. How good is this unit? Let's just say I am ebaying my last 3009 which is only about 3 weeks old.

Of course I could always just keep my 3009 (they are very close anyway) and sell my 818 for a great price... Hmmmmm

Joerod, on what date can you post a full detailed review? I would like to upgrade from my 705 to the 818 but am willing to wait a few months for the bugs to be worked out, and to see how major they are. Also to see if the bugs can be fixed via firmware or what not.

Well starting this past Saturday afternoon we had a "kicking" Holiday weekend party. After a handful of guests spent the night we continued on (Beer Pong in the Pool Tournament) until Monday afternoon. I would post other pics of the girls in their bathing suits but you know.

Anyway, I am hoping to have it done by this weekend. If not for sure early next week.

On the Home Theater side I did spend a little while showing the guests the new Spiderman, MIB, Ghost Rider and RE previews in 3D. All their faces looked like this: . Only with Monster 3D glasses on. Yes, the 818 was doing the sound!

I just received my unit, I didn't realize you don't get a hard copy of the manual, but a CD with it. It does have a hard copy of the Quick Start Guide. Man it's a heavy sucker at 40+ lbs. Time to go and get it going.

That Active Digital Crossover feature is WAY cool for DIY speaker makers. If the result can be fed through MultEQ, too, then it there is literally no reason whatsoever I can come up with to build any kind of analog crossover network, not even a notch filter. Removing those components generally increases sound quality and certainly reduces cost, so it's a win-win. I hope you early adopters play with this feature!

The only drawback is that there's only enough amplifiers to do this with two front channels, meaning the center channel will use a different style crossover network. Three identical front speakers won't be possible. This might not bother some since center channels are rarely the same anyway.

I'm waiting for the first owners to start chiming in with HDMI board issues. I love the way Onkyo's sound (esp for the money), but I had an 875 die on me after two months, then a 3008 in one day. I see the x09 owners still report HDMI board failures, too. I hope reliability is improved for this year!

I have a question for owners of the 818: is the Apple Lossless file support quoted in the manual ACTUALLY built-in, or is it dependent on AirPlay or direct playback from a USB drive or iPod plugged in? Meaning, if I used this as a streaming media playback device, would it access ALAC files from my networked HDD and play them back?

I hope that question was clear.

There is a video YouTube from Onkyo UK that specifically mentions it plays Apple Lossless both over the network and from iPod/iPad's.